Wednesday 11 July 2012 13.26 EDT
First published on Wednesday 11 July 2012 13.26 EDT

Mitt Romney received the most hostile reception of the presidential campaign so far when he was booed at the NAACP's annual convention for criticising Barack Obama's healthcare policy and record on jobs.

The loudest and most sustained boos came when the Republican challenger referred to "Obamacare", the derogatory label opponents use for the president's healthcare reforms.

Political strategists were divided on the impact of Romney's appearance before the convention in Houston of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, one of the oldest and biggest organisations fighting for black rights.

But even Democrats admitted he would receive some credit, particularly among independents, for at least turning up. Polls show Obama enjoys the support of about 90% of African American voters.

Romney made a pitch based on tackling unemployment among African Americans, which is double the average for whites, and the lack of educational opportunities in many black neighbourhoods.

Throughout the speech, he received sporadic, though muted, bouts of polite applause. But the booing began when he pledged to cut the federal deficit and said: "To do this, I will eliminate expensive, non-essential programmes like Obamacare."

The jeers were so loud at one point that Romney was left to stand, with a pained grin, at the podium. When the noise died down, he departed from his prepared text, a rarity for Romney, declaring the president's affordable healthcare act a drag on job creation. "So I say, again, that if our priority is jobs, and that's my priority, that's something I'd change and replace," Romney said.

The second, more subdued bout of jeers came when he accused Obama of failing to implement policies that would bring jobs back to America and help wages rise. "The president will say he will do those things, but he will not, he cannot, and his record of the last four years proves it," Romney said.

Footage of Romney standing at the podium being booed at an NAACP conference will probably do him no harm among some conservative voters. The target audience for his speech is independents: Romney must persuade them that he would be a president who would care about all sections of the population. Simply turning up at the NAACP may win him plaudits from this group.4

As a Mormon, Romney could be expected to receive a difficult reaction: Mormonism barred African Americans from the priesthood until 1978. But Romney was able to point to the record of his father George, who, as governor of Michigan, was a prominent campaigner for civll rights.

Romney opened his speech with an odd passage in which he suggested that if African Americans could see into his heart, they would vote for him. But he was not specific about why that would be the case.

He said: "With 90% of African Americans voting for Democrats, some of you may wonder why a Republican would bother to campaign in the African American community, and to address the NAACP. Of course, one reason is that I hope to represent all Americans, of every race, creed or sexual orientation, from the poorest to the richest and everyone in between," Romney said.

"But there is another reason: I believe that if you understood who I truly am in my heart, and if it were possible to fully communicate what I believe is in the real, enduring best interest of African American families, you would vote for me for president. I want you to know that if I did not believe that my policies and my leadership would help families of colour – and families of any colour – more than the policies and leadership of President Obama, I would not be running for president."

In a similar vein, he said later in the speech: "If I am president, job one for me will be creating jobs. I have no hidden agenda. If you want a president who will make things better in the African American community, you are looking at him."